22.04.2023 – A rich day

It was a rich day. So many special encounters with nice guests and our sea friends. Nature is so fantastic, so wonderful, always different and touching. To fully engage in such an experience can be astounding. Such beautiful experiences can be very humble. When we go out, we don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, we do not have nature under our control. This makes the encounter with whales and dolphins something special. After all, it is nature’s gift to us.

Various groups of Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) made a brisk move towards Funchal this morning. We often had them very close to our traditional fishing boat Ribeira Brava. After we left the animals, a guest spotted a high blow. Thank you Almut! As it turned out, it were four Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). We could accompany them for a while. Watching these second largest animals in the world soar majestically through the sea is awe-inspiring.

At noon, things went fast. Our journey first took us to a Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) preparing for its dive. To do this, it stores oxygen in its myoclobin-containing muscles and in the blood. With an elegant sweep, he lifted his fluke and disapeared into the blue. The first Pilot whales were seen not far from this Sperm whale. In fact, they were everywhere. A Fin whale surfaced amidst the Pilot whales. We made our way to two more Sperm whales. We were also able to observe Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), a small Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and a Flying fish (Cheilopogon melanurus).

In the afternoon it was a very nice tour with Bottlenose dolphins, Pilot whales and Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). There is something very meditative about watching resting Pilot whales and hearing their typical breathing sound “tsch”.

Today the dreams of some guests came true. So many beautiful tours. Thank you for this day! Thanks to our sea friends. Thanks to our guests.

If you want to help protect marine mammals after such a wonderful day, you can find our petitions here: https://www.lobosonda.com/whale-watching/marine-protection/

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Pilot whales, Fin whales

Stenella

09:30 Common dolphins, Pilot whales, Fin whales

13:30 Sperm whales, Pilot whales, Fin whale, Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead turtle, Flying fish

16:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphins, Pilot whales